School Newsletter - Issue 20 - Friday, 15th December 2023

Principal's News

Dear Parents and Carers, 

The end of the 2024 school year is upon us, unbelievable! It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming you all back for another year in this amazing community. I’m very much looking forward to the break but also excited for what 2024 has in store for SJF! 

The last couple of weeks have been massive. Without naming names because there are so many of you involved in the organisation of the past weeks’ events THANK YOU! We have had our End of Year Mass, Christmas Concert (personally one of my favourites), Year 6 Graduation and will conclude with the Year 6 Guard of Honor at 3:00 on Friday afternoon. 

Year 6 Guard of Honor 

As the students’ last official day for 2023 will be today, all students from Kindy – Year 5 will form a Guard of Honor for our departing Year 6 students, departing families, and departing teachers. We will ring the old school bell at 3:05 pm for these students and teachers to make their way through the Guard and will finish in the COLA area. If possible, it would be great to see Year 6 parents/carers but understand the time of year. All students will then be dismissed as normal. Please note there will be NO WALKERS today. 

School Building Update (includes cancellation of Walkers) 

After a long process of DA approval and contracts being signed, we have finally received approval for our building works to commence. Things have progressed very quickly, and today we received confirmation for a start date. Towards the end of January, fencing will be installed that will surround the building site. This includes the bottom toilet block, half of the quad, the Year 5 classrooms, the sheltered steps outside Year 6, and the driveway leading up to the quad. We will have full access to the OSHC and Mass Centre. Apart from the fencing, nothing will commence for the first couple of weeks. Year 5 will begin the year in their normal classroom. We are very lucky that apart from these areas we will have full access to all parts of the school and lose no playground space.  

We will need to move bus lines to another area as well as move classes to the pickup in a couple of new directions. This will require extra supervision on site. Unfortunately, to do this and keep everyone safe, we will be canceling the walker’s duty that we currently offer. For those who utilise this, I do apologise but know that you will understand why. 

If children are riding bikes home (or walking themselves) we will require a permission note from you. 

Planning and logistics around maintaining normal school routines will take place during the holidays and we will be constantly reviewing these to ensure minimal disruption for the children and their learning. Obviously, there will be some workarounds, but we will always keep you updated. 

I wish you a very happy, holy, safe, and restful Christmas break. 

See you all in 2024! 

 Kind regards

Marcel Arendse
Principal

Assistant Principal's News

Thank You 

As the school year draws to a close, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and partnership in nurturing our very special school community. As a community we've created a thriving environment that fosters growth for all of our children, academically, spiritually and personally. Your engagement in your child’s education, school activities, celebrations and events has continued to strengthen that special sense of belonging we have here at St John Fisher, which has such a positive impact on our school family. As we reflect on the achievements and challenges of the past year, I am filled with gratitude for your trust and collaboration. Wishing you a joyous holiday season, a safe break and looking forward to welcoming everyone back in 2024. 

2024 Calendar 

We are busily working on the 2024 calendar which we aim to make available to you all in the early weeks of Term 1. Important dates that come to light prior to the calendar being released will be sent out via Compass when they become available. 

Kindergarten Best Start Bookings 

If you have a child starting Kindergarten next year, Best Start Assessment bookings are now open on Compass. The assessment dates will be Wednesday 31st January and Thursday 1st of February. Please log on to Compass and book a time for your child with one of the Kindergarten teachers.

No MAI Assessments 

For families who have children in Year 1 to Year 6 next year, there will be no MAI Assessment days prior to school beginning. CSBB has removed the need to have these assessments conducted at the beginning of the year, so as a school, we will conduct our own baseline assessments. The data from these assessments will shape and drive our weekly grade Collaborative Coaching sessions. 

Stephen Lynch
Assistant Principal

Class Merit Awards

Growing in Faith & Knowledge Awards

Religious Education Co-ordinator News

Christmas Decoration Making & Children’s Liturgy

All families are invited to come along to Children’s Liturgy this Sunday at 5 pm where we will be making Christmas decorations to dress the parish tree.

Christmas Eve Mass 

Dear parents and carers,
 
Thank you to those who have responded to our call out for actors and readers for the Christmas Eve Parish Mass at 5 pm.  We are still looking for angels, shepherds, and readers to make this Mass a real celebration of Jesus' birth. If your child is interested in taking part in this special event, please email indicating if they would like to be an actor or do a reading.  If you have a child in high school who would also like to assist please indicate that in your response. 
Email sent to:       ssjtu.events@dbb.catholic.edu.au 
 
There will be a practice this Sunday at 4 pm in the hall 
 
Many Thanks  
Luisa Lawicki & Christine Shillings 

Luisa Lawicki
Religious Education Co-ordinator

Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)

Year 6 Graduation Parent Helpers

A huge thank you goes out to Donna Montebello for her exceptional work in putting together the year 6 graduation celebration on behalf of the year 5 parents. The catering and decorations were so wonderful and we are so lucky to have you as part of our community. Thank you to Cath Wildman for pulling the year 5 parent troops together to assist on the day and organising our gorgeous former students to help serve on the night. And of course, to the year 5 parents who gave their time to volunteer, thank you. There were also a few year 6 parents who generously stepped up to assist.

Year 5 2024

As is our SJF tradition, the year 5 parents organise and volunteer for the lead-up and day of our year 6 graduation ceremony evening. It is always such a beautiful evening and made even more special by our year 5 parents stepping up to give our year 6 cohort and their families a night to remember. We will keep this tradition alive in 2024 and beyond.

Lost Property

At the end of this week, we will be doing our best to return any items with names to students in their classes. Any good quality items will be donated to the office for emergency supplies and anything that remains will be given away. If you do have the opportunity to pop into school to check the lost property in the hall it will save a lot of time.

Uniform Items 2024

Over the holidays please take the time to label all of your child’s items. It saves our volunteers a lot of time and you, the parents a lot of money.

Thank You

Finally, a huge thank you from me to you, the families in our SJF community. This year has seen a huge growth in parent volunteers and community contributions. I can’t thank you enough, bring on 2024!

Kate Benton
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator

Upcoming Events